Paper Faces II: Amazing Things
by jjhatter
Summary: Nobody thought it could happen, not even in Underland...but, apparently, it could. Sequel to Paper Faces. R&R, please!


Welcome, fiends! I said there would be a sequel, and a sequel there shall be! As usual, duty before pleasure…

Rating: T (just in case…)

Disclaimer: Except for a few OCs, NOTHING HERE BELONGS TO ME! All rights for _Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland_ go to Tim Burton, Disney, Lewis Carroll, and anyone else I failed to mention involved. Don't sue me!

Summary: They didn't think it could happen…so, of course, it did. The sequel to _Paper Faces._ If you have not read it yet, do so; nothing here will make much sense if you do not. Contains, of course, Chess/Mally.

Notes: First of all, I dedicate this sequel to fellow author and friend Niphuria…who has been absent from this site for awhile now. Second of all, I do not know yet whether this will contain any songs from any musicals, and I'm fairly sure if it does none of them shall be from _Phantom of the Opera…_but only Time can tell. (And he's sulking, right now, so he won't.) If I get enough reviews/PMs requesting songs, and suggestions for a musical or specific songs to use, I MAY do it…but I make no promises. Third of all, if any of you are wondering how what-happens-here could happen at all…I quote _Alice: Madness Returns_: "Do I really look like I know? Your judgment must be severely impaired…" (I don't know why I like that quote so much…) Neither myself nor any character here knows, SO DON'T ASK.

Now, open the curtains! WELCOME TO THE SHOW!

**Chapter I: News From the Angels**

The news from the angels came about a month after he had married her.

Her visits to the Hare and the Hatter's endless tea party had been less frequent since they mated, but when she had left that morning, he had suspected that was where she had gone. And, as he preferred to hunt in the morning and night anyway, he had no objections.

But when she had returned to him, she had been strangely…quiet.

He hated it when she was so quiet.

When she was as quiet as she was then, it almost always meant something was wrong.

So, while they were enjoying dinner together, he decided to find out what was troubling her.

"Mally?"

The white dormouse looked up from the cheese she had been nibbling.

"Yes, Chess?"

"You've been awfully…quiet, love, since you came back from…wherever you were. I would like to know why," he said carefully; her temperament had always been explosive, but she had been acting even…moodier lately, and he knew the slightest misstep in word choice could cost him an eye.

He wanted to keep both his eyes very badly.

Mallymkun's own eyes widened. She blinked, and turned away again.

_Should I tell him?_

_ Of course._

_ But…_

"It's nothing, Chess," she said at last, a little too casually.

Chessur cocked his head to one side doubtfully.

"You don't want to talk?" he purred.

Mally snarled, a sudden anger filling her veins.

"I said it's nothing, cat," she snapped, her irrational outrage evident. What did it matter if she didn't want to tell him? Husband, mate, or not, he was not by any means her owner!

The Cheshire Cat's pupils widened and his ears drooped. He hadn't meant to upset her…what had he said? Had he done something wrong?

"I'm sorry, love," he meowed, unable to think of anything else to say.

Mally sighed, realizing he hadn't meant any harm, her sudden, unnecessary anger ebbing quickly.

"No…I'm sorry. It's just that…"

She paused, biting her lip.

"It's just…what?" Chessur pressed. "What's wrong, love? You can tell me."

There was a short silence. A sudden thought occurred to the cat, and his eyes narrowed.

"Did someone hurt you?" he growled darkly. If anything or anyone had hurt her, they would never see daylight again.

She looked up with widened eyes.

"No," she said quickly. "It's nothing like that, Chess. I'm fine…sort of…"

"Aha! All right, who did it? What was it?" hissed the cat, his claws now digging into the wood of the table.

"Chess, that's enough! No one hurt me! It's…it's something else…"

Chess settled down quickly.

"Then what's wrong, darling?"

"Nothing…that's kind of the problem…"

Chess looked at her with both curiosity and confusion.

"Mally, how can there be a problem with nothing being wrong?"

She looked around nervously (as if anything was really foolish enough to invade the privacy of a Cheshire Cat and a sword-wielding dormouse), and ran up to him. He scooped her up in one paw, so he could hear her better.

"Do you remember…when we first kissed?"

His smile took on a dreamy appearance.

"That was the greatest moment of our life, second only to our joining."

Mally nodded.

"Yeah, well…do you remember what we did…afterward?"

Chessur's smile was now mischievous.

"That was the third greatest moment."

Mally bit her lip, her expression no longer nervous, but frightened.

What was frightening her?

Not himself, surely! (He hoped…)

"Mally…what are you getting at?"

Mallymkun beckoned for him to lean in closer, so she could whisper in his ear. He rolled his eyes and obeyed. She whispered what she needed and wanted to say with nervousness. The cat's ear twitched and his eyes widened so much the whites behind his turquoise irises were visible, as were the tiny blood vessels in the back. He pulled away slowly and looked at her.

Her expression had gone from merely frightened to terrified.

For a moment, both were silent.

"M-Mine?" he said, stupidly, his normally silky voice cracking.

"It's not as if it could be anyone else's!" she squeaked, somewhat offended, in reply.

Slowly, he replaced her on the table-top. He stared off into space, letting the news of the angels sink in.

Then, naturally, he did what most males of his species did upon receiving such news so unexpectedly…

He fainted.


End file.
